Chelsea FC – Manchester City
Carlo Ancelotti had a tough homecoming this Wednesday when he took Chelsea FC to face Internazionale Milan at the San Siro Stadium. The Champions League was unique in many ways. Ancelotti was going back to face his old rivals Inter, Jose Mourinho would be facing the English club with which he won several trophies only a few years ago. Also, both teams are top of the table in their respective countries. The match was bound to be entertaining and indeed it was. The final score (2-1) was a result of good play by both teams. Chelsea were very unlucky on a few occasions not to reach the back of the net. As such, the players will take more positives from the midweek match than negatives.
Manchester City’s midweek match went very differently. After a 90’ draw with Stoke City while playing at the Brittania, the Potters went on to win 3-1 in added extra time thanks to goals from Shawcross and Tuncay. This latest defeat will have the players down on spirits and Mancini will need to keep his players mentally strong if they are to remain competitors for a Top Four finish.
Match details:
Chelsea F.C. vs Manchester City
Saturday, February 27, 2010 – 1:45 PM (CET)
28th match day
Stamford Bridge – London
Probable squads:
Chelsea F.C.:
Czech – Ferreira, Ivanovic, Terry, Zhirkov – Ballack, Cole, Lampard, Mikel – Drogba, Anelka
Manchester City:
Given – Bridge, Lescott, Kompany, Zabaletta – Barry, de Jong, Ireland, Johnson, Wright-Phillips – Adebayor
Current table:
| # | Team | Games | V | D | L | Goals | Diff. | Points |
| 1 | Chelsea FC | 27 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 63-22 | 41 | 61 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 26 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 48-33 | 15 | 46 |
Head-to-Head in EPL:
| Date | Match | Result |
| 05.12.09 | Manchester City – Chelsea | 2:1 |
| 15.03.09 | Chelsea – Manchester City | 1:0 |
| 13.09.08 | Manchester City – Chelsea | 1:3 |
| 05.04.08 | Manchester City – Chelsea | 0:2 |
| 27.10.07 | Chelsea – Manchester City | 6:0 |
| 14.03.07 | Manchester City – Chelsea | 0:1 |
| 20.08.06 | Chelsea – Manchester City | 3:0 |
Summary:
Chelsea are undefeated at home and have only drawn once. Their motivation to increase the gap ahead of Manchester United should help the Blues prevail.
City are down on fortunes right now after several Premier League draws and a loss in the FA Cup. Mancini could be in the hot seat if he doesn’t turn things around soon.
Chelsea FC will always be strong at Stamford Bridge no matter who is managing them. The team comes together and always scores multiples times for their fans. The players from Manchester are down on confidence and have not shown that they can compete with teams as strong as Chelsea.
Prediction: victory Chelsea